The 25,000th postcard sent from the Millbrook Post Office, and more postcards with Sunflowers at Cody and Kelsie’s Veggie Patch.
Postcards to the Front Canada is launching a Ukrainian Heritage Month campaign on social media, inviting Canadians to show their support for Ukraine with a photo that directly speaks to the Defenders of Ukraine.
Some images feature sunflowers, which is Ukraine’s national flower. This campaign is supported by the Federal Government’s Bill S-210,which declares September to be National Ukrainian Heritage Month, a bill which received unanimous consent. While the bill is a symbolic gesture, it aims to honour the enduring contributions and resilience of the Ukrainian-Canadian community. Similar legislation was passed in Ontario in 2011.
In explaining his reasons for introducing this bill, Etobicoke MP Yvan Baker explained “Ukraine is fighting on the front lines of the global struggle between democracy and tyranny. Its struggle is our struggle. That is why there has never been amore important time to adopt this bill… (which) honours the past, strengthens the present and inspires the future.”
Postcards to the Front Canada was established in2023 by Millbrook residents Helen Bajorek and Jean-Michel Komarnicki as an offshoot of the original Postcards to the Front (Ukraine) which was shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. They send hand-written postcards with message of support to Ukrainian defenders on the frontlines of the war with Russia. Every month they collect these hand-written notes which feature messages that are happy and supportive and not political, and include no mention of Russia. These messages boost morale in the field, including to medics, mechanics, drivers, cooks and members of the armed forces seeking to protect Ukraine and its people from the Russian invasion. Last month, this organization hit a significant milestone, shipping its 25,000th postcard from the Millbrook Post Office written by 14-year-old Natalia (Montreal).
There are a number of things Helen suggests Canadians can do to support Canada’s first official Ukrainian Heritage month. Her first suggestion is to write postcards, of course, but others include celebrating Ukrainian culture by preparing traditional dishes such as Borscht or pierogis, supporting a Ukrainian family sheltering in Canada, or sup-porting the Canadian Ukraine Foundation which focuses on the impact of war on Ukrainian children. Among its members is SAVE UKRAINE, a Ukrainian charitable organization that aids offers a comprehensive rescue network coordinating efforts to evacuate individuals from conflict zones, rebuild their lives and reunite deported children.
For more information about the organization, visit www.postcardstothefrontcanada.com.